NV OSHA To Begin New Inspection Program

Nevada’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (NV OSHA) will begin inspections later this month under a new National Emphasis Program (NEP) on Warehousing and Distribution Center Operations, which will include some retail establishments.

The federal OSHA adopted a NEP for warehousing and distribution centers in July 2023, citing high occupational injury and illness rates in this industry. The NEP calls for inspections of “warehousing and distribution center operations, mail/postal processing and distribution centers, parcel delivery/courier services, and certain high injury rate retail establishments.”

The federal NEP was adopted in modified form by NV OSHA in September 2023 and was followed by 90 days of outreach to affected businesses. Inspections will begin when the outreach period ends on December 24, 2023.

NV OSHA will inspect general warehousing and storage industries, couriers and express delivery services, and “high injury rate” retail establishments such as supermarkets and other grocery stores as well as warehouse clubs and supercenters. Inspections of employers in these industries will focus on hazards associated with powered industrial vehicles operations (i.e., forklifts, etc.), material handling/storage (e.g., storage racks), walking-working surfaces (e.g., work performed on/or around loading docks), means of egress, and fire protection. Heat and ergonomic hazards will also be considered and documented during each inspection.

More information about this program can be found in NV OSHA’s guidance. 

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